Author: Sarbpreet Singh
Publisher: Penguin India
I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read the history of the Sikhs?
In Cauldron, Sword and Victory, author Sarbpreet Singh takes the reader
on a journey through the fiery crucible in which the character of the Sikhs was
forged. Seers and mystics, conquerors and kings rub shoulders in this heady
tale of history and politics, embarking on never-ending quests for land, power
and glory. Singh’s first volume on Sikh history told the story of the venerated
Sikh Gurus. Starting with the rebellion of Banda Singh Bahadur, he now turns
his attention to Nawab Kapur Singh and his cohort of doughty Sikh chiefs who
became the masters of Punjab as the weakened Mughals of Delhi clashed with the
powerful Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. Bringing these swashbuckling
characters to life in a manner most vivid and compelling, Singh transports us
to the eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent as the Sikh chiefs engage with
the British, the Marathas, the Jats and the Rohillas, sometimes as allies and
sometimes as adversaries. Based on a unique mix of eyewitness accounts,
secondary sources as well as translations from Braj and Punjabi poetry, Singh’s
narrative is both erudite and engaging―a true saga of resilience, faith and
power.
The book is very well researched and well written. The author has explored the various aspects of the history of the Sikhs. In this volume, the narrative takes off a few years before the passing of Guru Gobind Singh, and then explores how the people stood up against the atrocities by the rulers of those times, and how the quest for land, power and glory shaped the characters of the people. The book highlights the struggles that the Sikhs had to face, and also the various feats of bravery that form the bedrock of the community as well. The book is not just a recollection through prose, but the author has also included relevant sections and translations of Braj and Punjabi poetry which helps the reader understand the importance and the impact of the various events through the people who witnessed them and lived them. While the book is a bit long and can become tedious to grasp at times due to a plethora of people, names and places, that is also the USP of this book. The writing is detailed oriented and when you read the book, you are transported to the time when it happened and you can actually visualize the situations described. Another thing that stood out for me in the book is that it not just talks about the period in the context of the Sikhs, but also of the overall political atmosphere and how the alliances across the sub-continent were being made and unmade, and ultimately their impact on the Sikhs.
The book is a definite recommendation for people who like to read historical
accounts, especially ones that are from a multiple POV and supported not just
by artifacts, but also through other mediums such as poetry. Sarbpreet’s
inclusion of the transliterated and translated poetry was one of the most
amazing things in the book. There is a certain eloquence that poetry brings to
history and that helped me quite a lot in contextualizing events and people.
The book scores a 4.5/5 for me.
Get a copy of the book from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon India
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